Department of Education and Training National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2014-15 Australian Burequ of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing

Number of students enrolled in tertiary studies

Tertiary education consists of both higher education, provided by universities, and vocational education, which is provided by registered vocational training organisations like Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. The organisations providing tertiary education can be either government or private institutions.

Vocational education and training (VET) enables students to gain qualifications for all types of employment, and specific skills to help them in the workplace. The providers of VET include technical and further education (TAFE) institutes, adult and community education providers and agricultural colleges, as well as private providers, community organisations, industry skill centres, and commercial and enterprise training providers. In addition, some universities and schools provide VET.

The total number of City of Onkaparinga residents enrolled in University, and the total number of South Australian and Australian enrolments, were sourced from the Department of Education and Training (14). The most recent available data for analysis was for the year 2014. The total number of City of Onkaparinga residents enrolled in VET was sourced from the National Centre of Vocational Education Research (NCVER), and the most recent available data for analysis was for the year 2014 (15).

Data Analysis

University enrolments

In 2014, the total number of students enrolled in university living in the City of Onkaparinga was 8829 (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Total number of students enrolled in university residing in the City of Onkaparinga, 2007 to 2014

Trend Analysis

University enrolments

In 2014 there was an increase of more than 38 per cent in the total number of students enrolled in university who live in the City of Onkaparinga when compared with the total number of enrolments in 2007 (Figure 11). This increase in the number of university enrolments between 2007 and 2014 for the City of Onkaparinga was greater than both South Australia (27.4 per cent) and Australia (33.3 per cent) (data not shown).

The proportion of students enrolled in university who reside in the City of Onkaparinga has continued to increase between 2007 and 2014, as shown in Figure 12. This local increase, by 1.14 per cent, in the proportion of the population enrolled in university between 2007 and 2014 was substantially higher than both the state (0.87 per cent) and national (0.91 per cent) figures.

Vocational education and training enrolments

Between 2007 and 2014 the total number of students enrolled in VET who lived in the City of Onkaparinga had increased by 14 per cent (Figure 3). This increase in the number of enrolments between 2007 and 2014 for the City of Onkaparinga was greater than both South Australia (12.1 per cent) and Australia (9.8 per cent) (data not shown).

The proportion of students enrolled in VET residing in the City of Onkaparinga only slightly increased when comparing 2007 with 2014, as shown in Figure 14. While this increase from 2007 to 2014 was only 0.4 per cent for the City of Onkaparinga, it was greater than that observed for South Australia (0.3 per cent) and Australia, which actually declined by 0.2 per cent.

Between 2013 and 2014 there was a noticeable reduction in both total number and proportion of students enrolled in VET for the City of Onkaparinga and South Australia (Figure 13 and 14). While there has also been a decline in VET enrolments Australia wide, this reduction has not been as great as that observed for both the City of Onkaparinga and South Australia (Figure 4).

Policy Implications

The observed increase in the number of students enrolled in university residing in the City of Onkaparinga is in line with State Government ambitions to transition South Australia’s economy to advanced manufacturing and innovation and entrepreneurship.

While there was still an increase in VET enrolments in 2014 compared with 2007, there was a notable decline in enrolments between 2013 and 2014, which may have been as a result of the closure of the O’Halloran Hill TAFE campus. Therefore the City of Onkaparinga may need to consider additional approaches to re-engage residents with VET. This could potentially include engagement with the State Government to address the recent state wide and regional decline in VET enrolments.

The draft Economic Growth and Investment Strategy aims to improve access to higher education facilities, in collaboration with state and federal governments and the higher education sector, to continue to encourage residents to enrol in tertiary education, which will contribute to the Community Plan Objective 3.4: Talented, Knowledgeable and Flexible Workforce.

Completion of year 12 or equivalent

Data for the highest level of schooling achieved (aged 15 years and over) was sourced from ABS Census data (16; 17), hence there was no recent data included since the publication of the previous Monitor (18).

Data Analysis

In 2011, the majority of City of Onkaparinga residents aged 15 years and over completed year 12 or equivalent (Table 1). The proportion of residents completing year 12 or equivalent in 2011 was slightly lower than both the state and national proportions. Conversely, the proportion of residents who did not go to school was lower than both state and national proportions.

Table 1:Highest level of secondary schooling completed (15 years and over), City of Onkaparinga, South Australia and Australia

2006

2011

Level of schooling

Onkaparinga (%)

South Australia(%)

Australia (%)

Onkaparinga (%)

South Australia (%)

Australia (%)

Year 8 or below

5.4

8.2

7.2

4.5

6.7

5.9

Year 9 or equivalent

6.8

6.5

7.0

6.3

6.0

6.3

Year 10 or equivalent

21.9

18.5

22.9

20.3

17.3

21.3

Year 11 or equivalent

22.5

19.2

10.0

21.5

18.5

9.7

Year 12 or equivalent

36.4

38.3

42.2

40.7

43.2

47.6

Did not go to school

0.3

0.8

0.9

0.2

0.8

0.8

Not stated

6.8

8.6

9.9

6.5

7.6

8.4

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of population and housing (16; 17)

Trend Analysis

In 2011 there were a higher proportion of residents that completed year 12 or equivalent when compared with 2006 (Table 1). There was also a lower proportion of residents who did not go to school in 2001.

Similar to that seen in the City of Onkaparinga, both South Australia and Australia had higher proportions of people who had completed year 12 or equivalent in 2011 when compared with 2006 (Table 10). While the proportion of Australians who did not go to school slightly decreased between 2006 and 2001, there was no change observed for South Australia.

Policy Implications

While the proportion of residents in the City of Onkaparinga who completed year 12 increased between 2006 and 2011, the proportion that did complete year 12 in 2011 was still less than state and national proportions. Nonetheless, it is still encouraging to observe that there has been growth in year 12 completion rates, possibly indicating an increasingly aspirational community. The City of Onkaparinga has been, and will continue to actively engaging with local high school students through participation in career expos and through the support of youth entrepreneurship programs such as 1625, SAYES and the New Venture Institute, which will contribute to achieving the Community Plan Objective 3.4 Talented, Knowledgeable & Flexible Workforce.

This indicator is linked to other strategies, plans and targets outlined below:

Government of South Australia South Australia’s Strategic Plan Targets:

89. SACE or equivalent: increase yearly the proportion of 15-19 year olds who achieve the SACE or comparable senior secondary qualification.93. Tertiary education and training: increase the proportion of South Australians aged 15-64 in tertiary education and training to 17% by 2016.

• National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030• National VET E-learning Strategy 2012-15 • National Strategy for International Education 2025 • National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy